Microsoft Chairman sits on stage during a video portion of the Windows 95 Launch Event on Aug. 24, 1995.

Microsoft Chairman sits on stage during a video portion of the Windows 95 Launch Event on Aug. 24, 1995.

Photo: GARY STEWART

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Should Microsoft revive the 'Start' button?

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Microsoft might bring back the "Start" button and allow users to boot straight to the desktop in its "Blue" update to Windows 8, ZDNet reported Tuesday. At least one analysts thinks that's a great idea.

Microsoft officials have contended Windows 8 is easy to learn. But tell that to my dad, who ended up downloading one of the Start-button replicators that third parties are offering.

The popularity of these add-ons is one of the factors Forrester analyst J. P. Gownder cited in arguing that Microsoft should revive the Start button and allow users to boot to the desktop.

"We live in what Forrester calls The Age of the Customer, a time in which companies that obsess about their customers earn a competitive advantage in their markets," he wrote. "During the period when the Windows Store's modern UI apps continue to grow in number and sophistication, Windows 8 users need to have the strongest possible Desktop Mode experience. Empowering users with familiar tools wouldn't be a sign of surrender, but rather a sign that Microsoft listens to its customers."